PLUS/MINUS: Four Takeaways from BU vs. Bentley

By: Dan Shulman

• TOO CUTE WITH THE PUCK

When moving forward in the offensive zone Boston University has become sloppy with the puck. Tuesday night, the Terriers attempted 82 shots, and could have easily peaked over 100 if they shot the puck instead of looking for the heroic pass. It’s impossible to fault BU for not shooting, as they certainly do enough of that. But they should be more direct with the puck. Rather than looking to skate through five bodies in an attempt to be fancy, take a shot, or make a simple pass. The game is a marathon, not a sprint.

• CRISPER PASSES

As evident in the games against Michigan, BU needs to work on making crisper passes all over the ice. On passes coming out of the defensive zone, the Terriers distribute the puck with a little too much force, often resulting in an icing. The neutral zone has seen most of BU’s poor passing, with turnovers galore and mistakes on line changes, both resulting in penalties and/or ensuing odd-man rushes. In their own offensive zone, BU needs to be more cautious when passing along the blue line or around the boards, as scoring chances are being wasted on bad passes.

• PLAYED ALL SIXTY MINUTES

For the first time all season, BU played a full three periods of hockey. The Terriers were dominant in every aspect of the game, from faceoffs to special teams. For sixty minutes, the Terriers had the Falcons on their heels, constantly applying a barrage of pressure on Bentley’s defense. It was the best game BU has played all season, and once again, they defended the Jack Parker rink. Although Bentley, a team from the Atlantic Hockey Association, was a weaker opponent, the Falcons were stingy for the entire game. If BU can play as well as they did on Tuesday for the rest of the season, Terrier fans could see a sixth National Championship banner raised at Agganis, and that’s no exaggeration.

• ABUNDANCE OF SHOTS

The Terriers continued their trend of firing shots on goal. Over sixty minutes, BU totaled 47 shots on goal, twelve more than Bentley’s 35 attempted shots. All but two Terrier players recorded a shot on goal. The two that didn’t, Brandon Fortunato and Ryan Cloonan, had a +2 rating and an assist respectively. Fourth line center Mike Moran led the team with six shots on goal, a stat which speaks to the balance of the team offensively. BU needs to maintain this offensive balance and keep getting shots to the net because goalie, unlike Pokemon, aren’t going to catch them all.